Top Twelve Tips for Combating Acne

Top Twelve Tips for Combating Acne : How to Get Rid of Spots

*Disclamer* I'm not a dermatologist or an expert, these are merely the tips and tricks I learnt during my fight against spots and acne. These hints may be obvious, or useless! For me, the only thing that helped was a prescribed topical. However, these tips certainly help for healthier skin and a healthier body and may well help you.

Before

After

Drink lots of water! 

Don't go overboard, obviously. I used to drink a pink of water every other hour during office hours PLUS tea and coffee and evening drinks. I must have been consuming more than a gallon a day. I pretty much constantly needed a piss. 

Eight glasses a day is really vague, not everyone has the same size glasses scientist dummy! I would say 2 litres a day is plenty. Stay away from sugary drinks and alcohol (I should take that advice I'm such a ginner), not just because they dehydrate your skin but also because they're pretty bad for your body as a whole. 

Get Eight Hours Sleep

Body needs its rest. Will also help with stress levels. Stress can often be a contributor to skin problems, if you're well rested you're less likely to sweat the small stuff. 

Change your pillows and sheets 

At least every fortnight, better still every week. I used to have major grumpines with my partner about his laundry habits. Now I just take clean pillow cases round when I stay over. Pillows can harbour lots of germs so wash them occasionally too

Clean your phones

Where does your mobile go? Pocket, bottom of bag, tables, the floor...? And you press that thing against your face?! It's disgusting when you think about what grime must be on your phone... Just use a wet wipe to give it a clean every now and then. That goes for land lines as well. 

Don't touch your face

And if you have to, wash your hands first. Think about where your hands have been, handling money (that's been handled by god knows how many people first), stroking your pet (my dog rolled in fox shit last week but that's a whole nother absolutely traumatising story), opening a public bathroom door... 

Now I don't want to go Harold Hughes on you but if you're having problems with your skin, it's probably a bit sensitive so I'd advise treating your skin very delicately.

Also... DON'T pick your skin. That includes squeezing. No matter how tempting it might be, it will almost always look worse afterwards. It will just spread the bacteria and make your skin inflamed. Don't do it. I'm serious. 

Eat six a day

Try to make sure they're mainly vegetables; fruit contains a lot of sugar which is bad for your teeth. Spinach is great for iron, tomatoes for antioxidents, broccoli is f*cking delicious... If you want to look great on the outside a good start is to enrich your body from the inside. 

Get outdoors

My mum was actually prescribed a UV face lamp for her acne in her 20s. I'm not sure what the science is behind that but vitamin D levels are generally quite low; people spend so much time in doors and wear very high SPFs when they are outside. Vitamin D tablets are a good substitute but I find that being outdoors adds to my well being which in turn can reduce stress.

Keep active
Again, keeping healthy inside and out aren't exactly going to go against you when trying to get your skin clear

Cleansing is a separate step from removing makeup
I am CONSTANTLY chastising my friends and sister for this. I definitely used to be an offender; I'd use a soap to clean my face and that's it. What I discovered that when I started using a toner following washing my face, there would always be a grimy makeupy dirty residue on the cotton wool pad showing that I wasn't cleaning my face effectively. 
So, even if you just use something cheap olive oil or baby oil, use a separate makeup remover BEFORE cleansing your face; it's a much more fail safe way of getting all the days grime off your face.

THROW AWAY YOUR MAKEUP WIPES!

THEY HAVE NO PLACE IN YOUR FACIAL ROUTINE (in my humble opinion... I get a bit capslock happy when it comes to skin care). They don't do a good enough job on cleansing your precious skin and they are pften much more abrasive than your hands or a cotton pad and when your skin is sensitive, you don't want to be aggravating it. 

Clean your make up brushes

I used to never clean my brushes AND chuck them in my purse/handbag amongst all my other crap. How very naughty of me. Depending on your usage, I'd recommend cleaning your brushes every two weeks, and if you're taking them around in your bag, put them in a clean brush roll or cosmetic bag. 

Be patient
Something that my dermatologist told me is that skin is on a six week cycle. If you start doing something to treat your skin, you won't see the effects for up to six weeks. If you do anything to your skin, hang in there for the six weeks to find out if its effective or not. This is definitely the case with my skin and Epiduo... It just takes patience and staying positive, you will find the thing to help your skin eventually. In the mean time, deep breaths and keep smiling. 

*Other than the photos of myself, the other images are from multiple sources via google

Clinique Anti -Blemish / Acne Solutions Foundation Review

Clinique Anti Blemish / Acne Solutions Foundation Liquid Makeup Review 

I bought this foundation when I started getting acne; I wanted make up that would cover my existing spots without causing new break outs. As you can see from my photo, I repurchased... but in a different colour. I now mix the two together in varying quantities depending on my level of face tannage. 

Before - no make up

After - one thin layer of Clinique Acne Solutions Foundation

Coverage: High medium to full coverage. 

Finish: Very matte. Almost a powder finish.

Application: Buildable, easy to blend. It's not as fast drying as other full coverage foundations such as Revlon Colourstay so you can take your time a little more with the application. 

Durability: This lasts definitely around 8-9 hours. I've never worn it any longer than that but I have a feeling that with a good setting powder/spray it would last 10-12. With lighter foundations (Bourjouis Healthy Mix and BB creams) 

they tend to start to slide and become patchy after around 6-7 hours of wear. 

Ingredients: This contains 0.5% salicylic acid - the active ingredient which helps combat acne

Colour Range: I am not a big fan of the range, they certainly don't have a colour that matches me exactly hence having to mix two colours. I have it in 001 Fresh Alabaster and 004 Fresh Vanilla

Packaging: The bottle is plastic which I find a little bit disappointing for a HE foundation (usually they are in glass bottles which to me are a little more luxurious), it has a squeezy nozzle which makes it very easy to control the amount you use. As always from Clinque, the box it came in was gorgeous but alas, I never keep them or I'd end up hoarding a heap of useless boxes. 

Price: Boots RRP is £22 for 30ml. It's not the cheapest foundation but a little goes a long way so it's likely to last longer.

mixing two shades to match my skin tone 

Over all thoughts...

I would definitely recommend this for someone with oily skin... However, if you have skin that is on the dry side or are using a treatment such as Benzyl Peroxide or any other topical treatment that dries the skin out, this foundation may not be great for those areas. When I first started using Epiduo, my skin was dry and red raw, this foundation was flaking away like crazy paving. It was great for my t-zone and cheeks, but on my chin it looked terrible. 

Now my skin is back to normal (for me that is still oily T-zone but no spots at the moment), I think this is fantastic coverage, it doesn't break me out at all, application is very easy and buildable. Highly recommended.

Elizabeth Arden Eight Hour Cream Skin Protectant Review

Elizabeth Arden
Eight Hour Cream 
Skin Protectant Review 

I had to review this stuff, it's absolute HG (holy grail) material for me. 

I first came across this when my mum recommended it to me during my acne hell; my skin was so sore and chapped from the treatments and I needed something to soothe my ruined face 

She bought a set in duty free including the tube of protectant, the lip balm and some face cream. I used up the latter two but haven't repurchased...

My god have I repurchased the Eight Hour Cream tubes... I have one in my handbag, one in my bedside table, one in my dresser and two more still packaged ready for emergencies... 

Background information: I really suffer with dry lips, if I'm caught without a balm, I'll just repurchase some... No matter how many Vaseline tins I have elsewhere. I have been known to hide balms at friends' houses to avoid the dry lip hell that leads to licking.. more dryness and a never ending circle of licking and hellishness.

I'll sum up in a tidy list

• Moisturises lips like nothing else - as a dry lip sufferer, this baby has gotten me through two winters with smooth lips. 
• A little goes a long way - I still haven't used up my first tub that I got two years ago
• Smells medicinal and good - lots of people don't like the smell but I hate overpowering sweet scents. This smells luxurious and herbal to me
• Multifaceted - I use this on my lips, on my elbows, to tame fly away hairs, as an intensive under eye treatment, for dry nose after a cold... dry knees. Anything that's dry, this is the answer
• An all purpose make up trick - on the tops of cheek bones as a highlighter, as a moisturising lip gloss, to tame eyebrows, as a clear mascara
• As an intensive facial moisturiser on long haul flights, or mixed with normal moisturiser for a daily night cream
• To add shine down the fronts of shins if you're wearing an outfit that bears your legs

As the ingredients list 'Ricinus Communis Seed Oil' (Castor Oil) and caster oil is known for its uses in hair growth, I did start using 8 hour cream as a growth serum on my eyelashes and eyebrows. Alas, no results there...

The active ingredient is Petrolium (like Vaseline), but it also has Lanolin (moisturising) and Salicylic Acid. Salicylic Acid is used for combating acne. It's an ingredient in many topical solutions and Clinique's Anti Blemish Foundation. 

When I first heard about this I assumed it would be a cream... But it's more of a serum like gel. It's orange in colour but goes on clear. 

Absolutely highly recommended product! This retails at £25 in Boots. Whilst I think it's worth the price with all its uses and longevity, I have never paid that amount for it. I've always bought it duty free or during a 10% discount at Debenhams event (which they have about every quarter)

Do you have a HG product? Let me know what yours are, I'm always looking to try new things!

Abi's Skin Brightening Acne Fighting Toner

Abi’s Home Made Toner
DIY Skin Care

When I was trying to find my solution to my bad skin, I read a whole lot about holistic remedies; including a variety of toner recipes. I fiddled around with all the information I found and came up with this. I've been using it for nearly two years; my acne scars are nearly all gone so I think it's pretty good. I make it for my friends too. 

Basically, after cleansing I shake up my toner and tip it three times onto a cotton wool pad. I swipe it over my face and moisturise afterwards. 

My face smells like a salad dressing afterwards. Fit. 

Recipe

¾ Rooibos Tea (three tea bags in boiling water, steeped until cool)

¼ Apple Cider Vinegar

¼ Lemon Juice (squeezed fresh from a lemon)

½ tsp ascorbic acid (vitamin C powder)

10 drops of Tea Tree Oil

Nutritional Information

Rooibos Tea

Rooibos, or Red Bush tea is hypoallergenic and antibacterial. It has a high level of flavonoids. Flavonoids help to encourage the body to destroy unwanted pathogens. Rooibos is also reach in the enzyme Superoxide Dismutase which is an excellent anti aging substance.

I used green tea; make sure you steep until cool. First time I poured nearly boiling tea into a bottle and the bottle contorted like cirque du soleil

Fill any empty clean container half way with the tea

Apple Cider Vinegar

Every time you wash your face, you are disrupting your skin’s natural acid mantle. Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV) restores the skin’s PH levels warding off bacteria. As well as being antibacterial, ACV also evens skin tone, smoothes texture, reduces breakouts, gives skin a “radient glow”

Then I fill the remaining space half way with ACV

(Sainsburys)

Lemon Juice

The citric acid in lemon juice speeds up the process of dead cell shedding. This gives the surrounding cells feedback to reproduce more quickly, giving the skin a brighter appearance. Citric Acid is high in Alpha Hydroxy Acids (AHA), commonly used in anti wrinkle products. AHA helps to increase collagen production and decrease melatonin production (skin discoloration, freckles and sun spots).

I fill the container nearly to the top with lemon juice. I think freshly squeezed lemon juice would be better but I used all the lemons in my gin. Can't have gin without lemons. 

(Sainsburys)

Ascorbic Acid

Vitamin C Powder or Ascorbic Acid is an antioxidant that slows the rate of free radical damage (which cause fine lines and wrinkles). It also protects skil cells, improves the appearance of sun damage, reduces inflammation, promotes collagen production and lessens hyper pigmentation.

DON'T use too much of this! I did once and it stung my face like crazy. 

(Holland and Barrets)

Tea Tree Oil

A topical antiseptic and antibiotic. Helps to dry up spots and control sebum production.

I also  use tea tree oil as a spot treatment for pimples

(Boots)

And that's it! I would say that this only costs me £1 a bottle; I use little bottles which last me a month, keeping it longer may make it less effective.

I used to use Clinique toners and found they dried my skin out so much and actually made my skin produce more oil as a result. If you don't want to make a toner like this but have problem skin I'd advise staying away from toners which have alcohol in. 

Please share if you have any home made concoctions beauty secrets! I'd love to hear from you. 

And here's a photo of me doing a duck face. Since I'm blogging I feel its a rite of passage.
Quack

My battle against acne, my cure and my trauma.

My Battle Against Acne: 

My Cure and My Trauma 

This is my first blog post... It's a sensitive topic for me but I'm going to try and be as informative, honest and candid as possible.

Preparing to write this I collected together the many photos I took of my skin as I made my battle against acne. Looking at the photos made me feel quite emotional, my skin was bad but my self esteem was worse. I don't think that anyone who hasn't had acne can quite understand how those spots can make you feel. 

I'd never take it back though: I learned so much during my journey with acne. That's why I decided to start a blog. 

To put things into context, here is my skin during my fight. I never took a photo of my skin at its worst but I am forever grateful that I recorded every bit of my experience through treating it! 

2010 - taking antibiotics

And here is my skin today

October 2012 - no make up

The main aim of this post is to share my experiences in the hope that it might give hope to maybe someone. I relied on the internet, especially acne.org for advice and support so hopefully I can give something back. 


My story: 

I had clear skin throughout puberty, I had a crappy cleansing routine, would frequently sleep in my makeup, never drank enough water or had enough sleep and I still had clear skin. 

At about 19 I started getting a few spots around my mouth. It was while I was living in Australia, and I wasn't super bothered about it at the time. I was drinking a lot of beer and living a completely unhealthy life style so I wasn't too surprised.
When I came home to the UK my skin went insane. I had already begun to be much more vigilant with my skin care and it just got worse and worse. Eventually I ended up with 15-20 active spots on my chin, cheeks and sometimes forehead at all times along with giant cycts.  My skin was so messed up. 

Towards the end I'd only have four or five active spots, but the red scars looked nearly as bad in my eyes

Having really big sore spots made it hurt to smile and laugh. Not that I felt like doing that often anyway

What I Tried

• At first I figured that my weight loss had triggered it (I gained two stone whilst living in Aus and lost three stone in two months very quickly on my return). So I gained weight. This didn't work. 
• My friend's mom who is a doctor gave me some sample tubes of Duac which I used without result. 
• I stopped wearing makeup. 
• I drank 1.5 gallons of water a day
• I went to my GP who prescribed me Duac again. And it didn't work. AGAIN!
• My housemate used to have acne and had a massive stash of oxytetracycline which he gave me. I took this religiously, waiting the two hours before and after food etc. These didn't work either. 
• Birth control- GP prescribed Dianette, despite me saying that I wanted Yasmin. I was only on Dianette for 2 weeks when I found it unbarable; I was an emotional wreck!
• I decided that if my acne was hormonal, I'd better try and rid my body of any unnecessary hormones. I needed birth control so opted for the copper IUD coil. This made my periods very heavy and eventually my body rejected the coil. I was put on Yasmin which is fine ; it didn't clear my acne but it didn't cause it either. 
• I used a range of supplements and holistic remedies after reading stories on the org: 
• Vitamin A, B3 Niacin, B5, C, D3, E, evening primrose oil, zinc, clear skin tablets. My pill box was massive. But I didn't actually notice a difference in my skin. Just my bank balance. I was spending an unreasonable about on supplements! 
• Holistic; egg white masks, lemon juice, ACV, asprin mask, honey mask, meditation!
• Diet; I don't think that diet affects my acne. I went 6 months eating for my skin; no dairy, no sugar, no wheat or gluten, extra protein and fruit and veg, would eat avodacos, carrots, oily fish!¦ Lovely things but I found myself getting obsessive, I was afraid to eat dinner in restaurants, embarrassed to eat with other people. My weight was dropping again. 
• I used teatree oil, teatree cream, witch hazel, hydrogen peroxide, sudocrem
• High End Products; After some research online, I decided to buy Clinique's 3 Step Anti Blemish Solutions Regimen (CABS I'll call it for short). This was a moisturiser, a foaming cleanser, clarifying lotion, moisturiser and a spot treatment. Also bought the foundation. I used this to the letter for around 2 months but found no results. The clarifying lotion was very strong, the moisturiser was not moisturizing, the spot treatment was no better than a cheap brand products. I was disappointed. I switched to the bar soap to see if I had better results with that. 
• Actually I have sent most of my Clinique things back; they reimbursed me the full amount! Very kind of them. From now on I will be more wary of the Clinique ladies; a lab coat does not a doctor make!

Makeup
Just a quick note about makeup; a lot of people are surprised when I say that I didn't really wear cosmetics the entire time I had spots. My reasoning for this is that I felt makeup would clog my pores and make matters worse (despite my derm reassuring me it wouldn't affect me). I also felt like makeup looked so bad over my ruined skin I thought I may as well not even try. 

It wasn't such a hard step though, I'd been living in Australia for over a year and didn't really wear make up even for a night out. You might think that's strange but I loved how laid back that was! 

Dermatologist
I went to my GP and said that I needed to see a dermatologist. There didn’t seem to be an end in sight. It took 6 weeks to get an appointment and another month for that to happen!
My dermatologist is absolutely lovely. I broke down in tears when I was telling her about my struggles and she couldn’t have been kinder.

She prescribed Epiduo and Cetaphil moisturiser.
I went back for a second appointment with my photo skin diary and a list of questions, she said that Clinique products are too strong, that I need to treat my skin gently, not attack it. She recommended Simple products.

She also prescribed Tetralysal Lymecycline antibiotics. They taste like shit. After taste is awful, like old old shoes. 

Epiduo: started on June 24th

My derm told me to use this once a day, preferably at night.
I thought that I knew best and that using it twice a day would double my recovery time.
I was SOOOO wrong! My skin went insane. I was expecting some flaking but it just ruined my skin. It was bright red, unstoppably flakey ; if I tried to exfoliate it off it would become red raw and painful and flake all over again. It hurt to smile.
I stopped being an idiot and used as prescribed. It has been amazing. It took about 2 weeks of proper use to see results and around four mouths to get 100% clear. 

I've been using Epiduo for EXACTLY a year now! I couldn't recommend it enough, it's changed my life. I will probably use it every day for ever. 

The epiduo made my skin red raw... literally

Epiduo caused my skin to peel, scab and crack. Hottie

Emotional
Over the past three years I’ve been at breaking point. I’ve shed many tears about my skin; literally looking in the mirror and sobbing.

Fighting acne is truly exhausting, it’s nothing you’ve done, it’s not your fault... And that makes it so much worse. If it’s not something I’m doing, then I can’t change it and it’s out of my control.
I’ve spent so much money on skin products; I prioritise my skin in my budget over having fun.

I used to sit in front of the mirror, painstakingly applying make up to cover my skin, but my skin was so sore and fragile, as soon as I moved my face it would crack. I'd cry and sob and end up cancelling. That would happen all the time. 
If I ever made it out, I'd constantly be checking my reflection to make sure my foundation wasn't flaking away... and if it was, I'd start peeling it off so I could put yet more on. Obviously it would look truly shit. My throat would contract, my breathing quickened and I felt like I'd have a panic attack. Thank god for gin :)

I used to select which side of people I would sit according to which side of my face was the best
It was ALWAYS on my mind, all consuming.

I wrote at the time: Over the last few months I have learnt not to look in the mirror so much, and when I do, I train my eyes not to go straight for the spots and scars and focus on my eyes. It really helps. Taking deep breaths can work wonders as well!

Summary

I am thankful every time I look in the mirror that my skin is now acne free. I actually quite enjoy showing off my before pictures in a weird way... 

I do still break out sometimes, it's usually when I go on holiday which I'll attribute to a change of routine, water and stress. I don't let it get me down though, I trust my epiduo to deal with it!

I'm not an expert so I can't give any real advice other than what I found personally helped me.

Everyone’s skin is different; what helps one person might not help another. It’s taken me quite a while to find something that works for me!

A website that was a great help to me was www.acne.org. I had a lot of support from fellow acne sufferers, learnt a great deal about treatments and remedies and made some good friends. Having people with you who understand what you're going through when it comes to acne is really important.

My skin November 2011

And just a couple more of my skin now (October 2012)

If anyone has any questions about the things I’ve tried then please leave a comment and I'll get back to you. If anyone would like to share their experiences I'd love to hear about them!